Working at the Café d'Albion
by Ugliness.Subdued
Summary: Just Edited! Arthur Pendragon is the stressed out restaurant manager of the Café d'Albion, Morgana is head chef, and Merlin is the new Chef with a lot to learn about being a chef in one of Paris's most popular restaurants! My second Merlin Au story, R&R
1. Chapter 1

**French Translations are at the bottom!**

**Chapter One: First day at the Café d'Albion**

Arthur Pendragon sometimes cursed the fact he was the Restaurant Manager of one of the most popular restaurants in Paris. Hundreds of people would pour into the restaurant in a few days giving the chefs hardly any rest, but that's why all of his chefs were extremely passionate about their work. For him on the other hand, he had to do more planning than he ever had to do before.

The first day of December was no different, Morgana calling him to wake up, knowing he would have jet lag from his trip to America. He walked over to his flat's window that looked over Paris, mentally cataloging his next stressful day, getting ready for all the curve balls that were sure to be thrown at him. Fifteen minutes later, pulling up to the restaurant on his motorcycle, pulling up next to a just arrived Morgana, also stepping off of her own motorcycle.

"Really Arthur, If the costumers start seeing both of us pull up on motorcycles their going to think we're both gang members."She smirked, her lips as red as the _tarte aux fraises_ she would make. He rolled his eyes at her as he took the steps into the back of the restaurant two at a time. He stepped inside spotting Gwen, a sweet dark skinned French girl; she was the one of the two female waiters for the restaurant, who along with Freya, the other waitress, was very good.

"_Bonjour _Arthur." She smiled, obviously remembering his request for her to speak French to him; his needed a lot of work.

"_Bonjour _Guinevere, _Comment êtes-vous?_" He asked how she was in his bad French accent, being rewarded when she smiled encouragingly.

"Your French is getting much better Arthur." She smiled her voice only lightly accented when she spoke English, as she buttoned up her red vest. The uniform for the waiters and waitress of the restaurant was black pants, or skirt for Gwen and Freya, with white button ups and dark red vests, along with a dark golden tie.

"Where is Lance and Leon? Are they already here?" Morgana asked looking around for the other two waiters as she buttoned up her chefs' coat, and tying on her black apron around her waist, her hair already put up in a bun.

"Oh Lance is here, I'm not sure if Leon is here yet, but Lance is out at the bar talking to Gwaine." Gwen supplied a small smile on her face at the thought of her Fiancé, Lance DuLac. Once when Arthur first arrived to be the manager he and Gwen had a relationship that ended when they both realized Gwen was in love with Lance, Arthur harboring no bad feelings .As if sensing he was being talked about Leon walked in from the front of the room, already wearing his waiter's uniform, immediately drawing Morgana's gaze to him.

"Arthur," Leon smiled looking at his friend. "How was America, Mate?" A smile still playing on his bearded face.

"Oh it's the same, I wish Uther was still in England, I miss the place, but the old house is still being renovated." Arthur shrugged shimming out of his leather jacket, and gloves, cashmere scarf.

"Ugh, Arthur, I thought we had an agreement not to discuss Uther before starting time." Morgana groaned at the mention of her step-father. Arthur's mother Ygraine, died when Arthur was quite young. When Arthur was eleven, Uther Married Elaine, Morgana's mother, giving him a step-sister.

"Yes, well at least you didn't have to deal with him for a week; it was constant talk of the restaurant, our plans, and new menu suggestions'." Arthur replied with a humorless smile. "Now tell me how things were here while I was gone."

"Not much happened," Leon mused sipping a to-go cup of coffee. "Oh! I almost forgot the new Chef we hired, Um Emrys I think it was, arrived a few days ago. Real nice Bloke, His lived in the same town as Will when they were kids."

"_Il est un garçon adorable._" Gwen smiled hopping into the conversation.

"He is a lovely boy." Morgana translated, seeing Arthur's confused face looking at her for answers.

"We don't need a _Beau garçon_" Arthur said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Is he a good cook?"

"Don't you scare him Arthur! _Il est un garçon adorable! Il ne mérite pas d'être effrayé par vous pour son premier jour!_"

"Oh, yes he is, Gaius swears by his _Blanquette de veau_, and you know Gaius isn't impressed easily." Morgana smiled, ignoring Gwen's French outburst.

"Well, if he can impress you Morgana, and Gaius, I guess I'll let him say, I still can't believe Uther hired him without telling me." Arthur relented, stealing the rest of Leon's coffee.

"Relax Arthur, you can't always be told everything, now come on people! We got a restaurant to prepare!" Morgana cried waving them all out of the large kitchen, Arthur going into his office connected to the Kitchen, Gwen and Leon going through the doors to the dining rooms of the restaurant.

**§O§**

It was two hours later that Arthur finally meet Emrys, He was hunched over a cutting board his long pale fingers curled around a knife, cutting celery, onions, and carrots for a _mirepoix_. Arthur let his eyes look over the new chef. He was tall, with black hair that seemed like a cross between the English Beatles and Vulcan from Star Trek, his skin was a creamy milky white, he had a skinny build with prominent cheek bones and collarbones.

"Ahmm." Arthur cleared his throat trying to get his attention, the boys eyes shot up to his face, blue eyes staring into blue eyes. "Are you Emrys?"

"Merlin Emrys." The boy said, barley any French accent in his voice, it was more English with a Northern Irish twang.

"I thought they said you were French?" Arthur said before thinking surprised at another English chef working for him.

"I moved to France when I was thirteen," Merlin said a large smile on his face crinkling his eyes. "I know how to speak French though if that is what you want to know."

"Oh? Oh um no, I just want to make sure your as good as everybody says." Arthur said blushing at his moment of curiosity over this new chef.

Merlin blushed setting down his knife. "Well I don't know if I'm _that _good-"

"_Tais-toi_ _Mer_lin!" Came a yell from another part of the kitchen, it came from Will, as he pointed a knife at Merlin. "Don't listen to this_ imbecile_, He's brilliant, and horribly modest. I wouldn't be surprised if he's better than Morgana, actually I'm sure He is!"

"Well thank you Will," Arthur said to him nodding to the French man. "Well I've kept you long enough from your _mirepoix_."

"Goodbye Arthur!" Merlin grinned in what Arthur was starting to think was the only way he could smile.

"I'm just in my office _Mer_lin, not on the other side of France, Idiot." Arthur scoffed, before quickly shutting his mouth as he never outwardly insulting employees.

"Prat." Merlin laughing going back to his chopping, leaving Arthur to walk back into his office to puzzle on his new chef.

**§Authors' Notes§**

So I edited this story because of the revisions I made to it and also because people requested some French translations so here they are!

_Bonjour - _Hello

_Comment êtes-vous?- _How are you?

_Il est un garçon adorable.- _He is a lovely boy.

_Beau garçon- _Lovely/pretty boy.

_Il est un garçon adorable! Il ne mérite pas d'être effrayé par vous pour son premier jour!_"- He is an adorable boy! He does not deserve to be scared of you for his first day!

_Blanquette de veau- _is a French veal ragout in which neither the veal nor the butter is browned in the cooking process. To refrain from browning meat and fat in this way, is to cook them _en blanquette_. To prepare blanquette de veau, one stews pieces of veal (such as shoulder or breast) and mirepoix, and bolsters the broth with flour, butter, cream, and/or egg yolk. Mushrooms, rice, pasta and potatoes commonly accompany this dish, which is served hot.

_Mirepoix- _A mixture of finely cute onions, celery, and carrots

_Tais-toi_ – Shut up!

_Imbecile- _Idiot


	2. Chapter 2

**Once again French translations will be at the bottom of every chapter!**

**Chapter Two: **_**Blanquette de veau**_** and Good Impressions.**

Cooking was something that was always a refuge for Merlin. When they had first moved to Ealdor, France he had been confused and alone. Before he had cooked occasionally when his mother would trust him with the kitchen, but when they had to move she handed him a old cook books with a sad smile when she noticed his dazed look. He had carried the cook book with him at all times, _Mastering The Old Religion of French Cooking_, the book was littered with doggy ears and his scrawl inside of it where he had added notes and results.

Merlin would always came home from school, and immediately pull that book out of his canvas bag, flipping to a new page before starting dinner. Even when his mother had to work long hours at her work and she would come home well late, Merlin would still have a plate of warm delicious French food waiting in the oven. The day after Merlin turned Eighteen, his mother called him down the stairs and sat him down at their kitchen table. She explained to him how she was sending him away to Gaius, an old friend of hers. She told him how Gaius had said when he had heard of Merlin's talent of cooking he had agreed to pay for his collage in the culinary arts.

Two days later his best friend Will had drove him over to Gaius's house in Paris and his new life had started there.

**§O§**

Merlin shook his dark head before turning back to his _Mirepoix _after his discussion with the Restaurant Manager, Arthur Pendragon. He wiped his knife clean of the stray bits of vegetables before scooping it into a small bowl. He turned around pouring the _Mirepoix _into the stew pot that had a _ragout_ of veal being cooked in it.

"I assume that is your famous_ blanquette de veau_?" A female English voice asked from behind him, he turned around seeing the face of Morgana LeFay, the head cook.

Merlin Smiled,"Oh yes, Miss. LeFay-"

"Don't worry Merlin, were all on a first name base in this kitchen, you can call me Morgana." Morgana smiled showing all of her pearly white teeth as she stirred the dish he had been cooking.

"Well as I was saying Will told me Arthur would want to taste something I cooked for dinner tonight, I thought I would make the _blanquette."_ Merlin smiled taking the spoon away from Morgana.

"Smells delicious, I'm already jealous of Arthur," Morgana glared at the door to Arthur's office. "But then again I know there will be leftovers from his plate."

Merlin looked up from his pot looking confused. "What do you mean?"

Morgana looked around with a shift of her eyes, before leaning in closely to Merlin. "Arthur doesn't like French food- his mother Ygraine used to be a chef, she cook French food and after his mother passed away he couldn't stand the taste of it anymore."

"_Pauvre Arthur_" Merlin gasped, before realizing he had lapsed into French. "Then why does he work here at this restaurant then if it brings up so many bad memories?"

"I don't know Merlin_,_ but I have keep you from your _blanquette_ for long enough, get back to work." Morgana smiled and went back to where she was making the pastries for the dinner crowd tonight. He sighed shaking his head at the new knowledge about his boss, and turned back to his refuge.

**§O§**

"_Mer_lin, Arthur_ veut votre nourriture dès maintenant_!" Will yelled from across the kitchen from where he was chopping carrots.

"_Ouvrez vos yeux Will! Merlin devient Arthur sa nourriture_!" Morgana yelled at him from her station, her eyes narrowing into a glare at Will. Merlin grinned picking up his plate up from the counter top walking out of the kitchen, looking around the dining floor before seeing Freya, a sweet little French girl With big brown eyes and wavy dark hair, pointing to a table in the corner which, low and behold, Arthur was sitting at it. Merlin walked up unnoticed to Arthur who was playing with a empty wine glass.

"Are you going to stand there until I make a sign I've noticed you?" Arthur deadpanned raising one blonde eyebrow at Merlin when he didn't make any move.

"_Well _you just made a sign you noticed me. " Merlin smiled cheekily setting down the plate of warm food.

"So, what have you made?" Arthur asked looking at the plate of food, setting down his glass.

"Its _Blanquette de veau_, Gaius says it's my best dish." Smiled Merlin, sitting across from Arthur when the blonde motioned to the chair across from him.

"Oh, yes, I remember Morgana said something about how Gaius knows you, care to elaborate?"Arthur asked twirling his fork in his fingers.

"Oh, I lived with him while I got my degree in the culinary arts, and I knew him since I was very little." Merlin smiled. "Well you go ahead, _Bon Appétit_."

Arthur rolled his eyes before stabbing a piece of the veal in the plate, sticking it in his mouth his eyes widening. "Oh my God." He whispered looking down at the food. "_You _made_ this?" _He asked indignantly looking from the food to Merlin.

"So surprised?" Merlin laughed leaning forward onto the table, taking a bottle of_ Volnay_ from a passing waiter, one that had ginger hair and beard, and filled up Arthur's wine glass.

"Very surprised." Arthur laughed eating more of the food. "Well _Mer_lin, for looking like such an _idiot _you can actually cook, so good job I suppose. Now go cook more of this food, and tell Morgana you actually made a good impression, you'll probably make her have a heart attack." Arthur pointed the fork at the kitchen doors watching Merlin walk away laughing.

**§O§**

Later Arthur and Morgana were sitting at the center table in the middle of the dining room, both sipping the last of the red wine.

"So how did Merlin do?" Morgana eventually broke the comfortable silence between them.

"What didn't he tell you?" Arthur asked back swirling the wine around in the bottom of the glass.

"No, he just grinned for the rest of the night, so I assumed it was good news." Morgana laughed drinking the rest of the wine in her glass setting it down on the table.

"It was well, bloody fantastic, I never thought French food could taste that good." Arthur sighed shaking his head, clearly thinking back to his dinner.

"So your aren't mad at Uther at hiring him without telling you anymore?" Morgana inquired raising a black eye brow.

"I think I'll find it in my heart to forgive him." Arthur smirked back at her. "Did you know Gaius actually paid for his collage? That old food critic actually paid for _Merlin_'s education, and no matter how good he cooks, he's still an idiot."

"It's because Gaius recognizes _talent _Arthur, and plus his basically Merlin's uncle, Merlin's mother and Gaius have been friends forever."

"How you know all these things I will never know Morgana." Arthur sighed shaking his head, standing up offering Morgana his hand which she took, pulling herself up.

"Well, let's say not only Uther has connections." Morgana smirked turning on her heel walking out of the restaurant, leaving a confused Arthur in her wake.

_Again_.

**§O§**

**AN: Here is the edited and revised chapter two! **

Oh and a little funny thing to tell you about how Merlin took the bottle of wine from a waiter? Yeah, he took it from Leon actually.

_French Translations:_

_Pauvre Arthur- _Poor Arthur

Arthur_ veut votre nourriture dès maintenant_!- Arthur wants your food now!

_Ouvrez vos yeux Will! Merlin devient Arthur sa nourriture!- _Open your eyes Will! Merlin is getting Arthur his food!

_Bon appétit_- Enjoy your meal.

_Volnay- _Is a fruity high acid red wine that goes well with _Blanquette de veau. _


	3. Chapter 3

**A big thank you has to be said for my new Beta Eris Dea Disaccordo! **

**Chapter 3: Your First Staff Meeting **

"So? How'd you like your first day at the café?" Will asked as Merlin piled into Will's dark green car after work. Merlin had been procrastinating over his driving lessons for ages now, so Will still have to come pick him up, and as Will had verbalized on many occasions Merlin was a lucky bastard to have Will as his best friend.

"Not bad. My dish went over well," Merlin grinned, fishing his reading glasses out of his coat and grabbing the newspaper Will still had in his car. "I'm still a bit shell-shocked of course, but the Albion's kitchen is a dream though."

Will scoffed, rolling his eyes and making the car swerve a bit as he did so. Hand-eye coordination at its finest. "Well, of _course _your dish did well. You did the Blanquette_, _didn't you? What surprises _me _is the fact that Prince Arthur told you it was actually good! Next thing we know, you'll be skivvying for the Pratly Prince." Will shook his head and turned into the road that housed Merlin's apartment. "So should I pick you up again tomorrow, Your _Majesty_?" Will asked as Merlin climbed out of the green car.

"Well, I don't plan on getting a license in the middle of the night, Will," Merlin grinned, reaching back inside for his bag. "And don't we have a staff meeting tomorrow morning? Late morning? What time is the staff meeting? I think I overheard Morgana talking about it to the ginger waiter man."

Will gave a loud laugh, tossing back his head. "I'll be sure to let Leon know you think of him as the 'ginger waiter man'," Will said, grinning as he handed Merlin his coat when Merlin made a move to go back and grab it. "But yeah we do, so you better get some sleep—these things can get pretty rough."

Merlin laughed. "Night, Will." He waved and started walking away once Will waved back and pulled out into the road again. He turned toward his apartment door, fishing his keys out of his pocket and unlocking the door. As he stepped inside and shut the door behind him, his blue eyes swept over the chaos that was his new apartment—those pesky packing boxes still lurking in the corners and his books and papers stacked up in messy piles across the floor.

Keeping his keys in hand, he dropped his bag and coat on his overly plush blue arm chair and walked into his small kitchen. A large brown box rested on the counter top, marked 'Cooking utensils/pots' in board black letters. Merlin pulled up one of his keys and placed the sharp edge to the brown scotch tape, and—in one swift motion—cut it open. Setting his keys aside, he started digging around in the box, looking for his non-stick skillet and his cooking tools. He gave a short cry of triumph when he found them and placed them on the cook top, then turned to pull tofu and vegetables out of the small fridge.

The tofu and vegetables were stirred around in the pan with the only utensil Merlin had been able to find in the box—a metal spatula. They started to pop and sizzle as Merlin poured in some sesame oil into the hot pan and stirred the contents around, making sure the oil coated everything.

Humming soon filled the kitchen as Merlin finished up cooking the food and pouring it in the bowl he had managed to find. Merlin quickly started to eat his food remembering all the times Gaius had heard him hum while he was cooking — He had always tried to tell Gaius it had to do with the good smelling food making him happy.

Merlin smiled as he shoved the last bit of food in his mouth, still chuckling a bit at the memories of the first time Gaius had heard him hum while he cooked, he put the dishes in the dishwasher and headed up to get ready for bed. He finished his nightly rituals fairly quickly and bunked down under his blankets. As a second thought, a long arm shot out to set the alarm for the next morning, then twisted slightly to turn out the small lamp casting the room into darkness.

He fell into dreamland almost immediately.

**§O§**

The staff meeting wasn't going very well.

Will had given up all pretenses and was simply leaned back in his chair, fast asleep. Gwaine was once again trying to flirt with Freya, and Lance was making goo-goo eyes from across the table at Gwen, who—unfortunately for him—was too engrossed with the fashion magazine she and Morgana were reading under the table, and was therefore not paying him any attention. Merlin had a large leather-bound cookbook on the table, his reading glasses perched on his face and his eyes darting back and forth over the open pages.

So pretty much Leon was the only one paying a shred of attention to Arthur.

"Morgause is coming back into town!" Arthur finally exclaimed, giving up on reading the letter Uther had sent to him about the new shipment of supplies soon to be delivered to the restaurant. "And Father wants us to whip up some new items for the menu and take out the ones that aren't as popular anymore. But we'll deal with that later."

That got the reaction Arthur was looking for—Will snapped awake then, Morgana and Gwen both looked up quickly from their fashion magazine, Gwaine and Freya stopped their flirting and, if possible, Leon sat up even straighter. In fact, only Merlin seemed completely nonplussed at the news.

"What's Morgause doing back in Paris so soon? I thought she was trying to steal some chef from some posh English restaurant?" Gwen asked, her confusion written over her exotic features. "There's not even a food festival going on."

Arthur shook his head and shrugged in confusion. "I don't know—Father didn't really mention much about her. He just put in that one sentence really."

Merlin raised a hand trying to get everyone's attention. "Am I the only one who has no idea who Morgause is?"

"_Mer_lin! Did Gaius never mention Morgause Lothian to you before?" Arthur asked, his face scrunching up in an almost comical expression of bewilderment. "I thought he would've warned you about Paris's resident witch."

"Arthur, stop it! She's not a witch; she's actually quite pleasant once you get to know her," Morgana defended, green eyes blazing at the blonde man before she turned to look at Merlin. "Morgause Lothian is the owner and restaurant manager of The Idirsholas, ever heard of it?"

"That's a French restaurant. Gaius took me there once, but he never told me about Morgause. Well, unless," Merlin trailed off, wiping away a stray lock of black hair from his forehead.

"Yes, _Mer_lin?" Arthur drawled, resting his chin on his fist.

"Well, Morgause wouldn't happen to be the 'Evil Witch,' would she?" Merlin asked. Everyone was still for a moment, before they all started laughing loudly. Even Morgana couldn't help but join in on it, after she realized that no one was paying attention to her glare.

"Yes, Merlin, that _would_ be Morgause," Arthur managed to say eventually, still laughing as he folded up his father's letter and walked away from the table they were all situated at. "Well, that was a semi-successful staff meeting, wouldn't you all agree?"

**§O§**

**AN: ** I edited this story so that Morgause does not work at the Café d'Albion I did this so that my plot works better, so if anyone is confused you may have to go back and read the edited chapters :)

Please read and review _**MesAmours**_!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, but it was just my birthday, sooooooooooo if BBC wants to make me **_**really **_**happy…..**

**Chapter Four: Rolling Chairs.**

Arthur fussed around with one of the hand-out menus that the restaurant had, trying desperately to think of new menu ideas. Morgana was pacing around in the kitchen, her rapid use of French reminiscent of a loud machine gun as she spoke to who he thought was Gwen.

"_Consulter ce n'est pas ma faute qu'il a d'être un peu têtu— ce qui est de ce mot Merlin utilise? __Oh oui —prat_." Wow, it was almost impressive that Arthur knew she was talking about him with only the tone of her voice.

"Mor_gana_, do stop talking nonsense and come _help me!" _Arthur yelled at her from the lounge.

"Oh, come now Arthur!" Morgana drawled as she poked her head through the doorway. "You're a _successful _restaurant manager, aren't you? Can't you come up with a menu list without my help?" She smirked at him, leaning her head on the doorframe, though Arthur noticed she had yet to tell Gwen (or Not-Gwen) that she had to go because she was no longer on the phone.

"Well, you _are _the Head Chef, which—if you think about it—makes _you_ responsible for menu changes," he snapped back, his patience fraying at the ends.

Morgana raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. "Well, here's an idea for you—"

Arthur raised his eyes to the ceiling. "God help me," he intoned with a long-suffering groan.

"—why don't you ask for Merlin's help?" Morgana finished, pretending not to hear Arthur's complaint.

Arthur laughed incredulously until he saw Morgana's face. "Wait," he said, sobering up. "You're serious?"

"Yes, I am." Morgana sniffed, looking as if she was judging him for taking so long to catch on to her brilliant idea.

"I think you've been cooking too many of those fancy French herbs, Morgana—the fumes are getting to you," Arthur tells her in a mock-concerned voice.

"Arthur," Morgana said in that tone she used when Arthur was at his most annoying. "He's a _good cook_. Get it into your head. He probably has a bazillion good ideas for your new menu if you would actually _talk_ to him."

"I _do _talk to him," Arthur scoffed rolling his eyes.

"Talking means holding an adult conversation and not insulting each other for at least five seconds," Morgana deadpanned.

"Ugh. _Fine_, LeFay. But if this goes down in dramatic and devastating flames, I get to blame you," Arthur said with no small resignation, looking terribly put upon.

Morgana only smirked and plucked his car keys from the key rack nailed beside the door, handing them to him with a smug smile as he passed her on his way out.

:i:

Arthur managed to get the directions to Merlin's flat from Gwen, who—bless her kind heart—seemed to have started up a BFF type of relationship with Merlin in record time.

He drove his fancy car down the road where Gwen said Merlin's flat was and parked in front of the lot number she'd prattled out. Exiting the car, Arthur smoothed down his shirt and walked up to Merlin's apartment door—an old blue door that looked to be about 10 years old—and knocked, waiting impatiently for Merlin to answer.

The door opened about 15 seconds later—with Merlin sticking his disheveled head out—and a grin spread over his face. "Arthur what are you doing here?" he asked, opening the door wider in a silent gesture of welcome.

"Morgana suggested I talk to you about the new menu changes," Arthur said as he stepped inside, glancing around the messy flat he had entered. Books and papers were stacked everywhere, and what looked to be packing boxes were strewn around the room. He looked back at Merlin and added, "She seems be under the impression that you had some good ideas. Really Merlin, what _have_ you been doing to give her that impression? And why haven't you been giving me that impression too?"

Merlin simply laughed—as though he hadn't heard the insult—and walked down the small hallway to what appeared to be an office. "I don't know why Morgana asked you to talk to me," he said as Arthur followed him inside. "I haven't been doing that much to warrant such high praise. Maybe you heard her wrong?" Merlin laughed still grinning that obnoxious grin of his.

For a moment, Arthur could only blink as he was greeted with the sight of a box. It had what appeared to be an image of a rolling chair—which, of course, seemed perfectly reasonable since there were pieces of said rolling chair strewn across the small office. Merlin sat down, tucked his feet under his knees, and picked up what looked like an instruction manual off the floor.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Yes, maybe you're right," he said, feeling resigned for the umpteenth time that day. "I can never tell with her anyway. But since I'm already here, I might as well speak to _someone_ about the new menu."

"Isn't that why you have Morgana?" Merlin asked, his eyes still twinkling.

"Well, yes," Arthur acknowledged, his eyes scanning the messy office for someplace to sit. "But all she did was yell at Gwen in French."

"Why would she be yelling at Gwen?" Merlin asked, completely confused. "In fact, why would anybody yell at Gwen?"

"Well," Arthur drawled, giving up on finding a spot to sit on, "I don't know if it was Gwen, and I don't know if it really was yelling. But I think they were talking about me." Arthur scratched his temple, belatedly realizing that Merlin was so easy to talk to.

"If Morgana was yelling and talking about you, then she _was_ probably speaking to Gwen." Merlin told him, flashing an amused smirk that seemed more devious than his normal grin.

"Yes, well, that doesn't matter right now," Arthur said, changing the topic once he heard the near-mocking tone Merlin spoke with. "I still need to talk about the menu changes. I think I want to add the Blanquette to the menu. What do you think?"

Merlin looked positively surprised that Arthur actually wanted to add his dish to the menu, obviously Arthur had been calling him an idiot too often.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Merlin answered in a shaky voice.

"Good," Arthur nodded. "I'm also thinking of removing some items from the menu that our competition have too."

Merlin shrugged noncommittally. "I wouldn't know, really. I haven't had time to eat in many restaurants in Paris since I arrived."

Arthur looked bewildered. "Are you serious? That's like going to the beach and not swimming!"

Merlin looked like he was trying to come up with a snappy retort, but suddenly something in the instructions he had been reading caught his eye. "What? They didn't mention that!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Merlin's outburst. "Something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong," Merlin said sarcastically, glaring at the obviously badly-written manual. "I mean, _really!_ You'd think they would include that earlier in the instructions, wouldn't you?"

Arthur sighed, rolling his eyes and holding one of his hands out. "For God's sake, _Mer_lin! How about you give _me_ the instructions, and _you_ can sit down and write the new menu?"

Merlin's eyes brightened. "Seems fair," he grinned.

Arthur took Merlin's spot on the floor and started trying to assemble the rolling chair, and Merlin went to go find a notebook and pen to write down menu ideas. They sat in companionable silence for a while—Arthur twisting screws together making up the chair and Merlin writing down words in his scratchy handwriting.

"So why exactly am I putting together a rolling chair?" Arthur asked, finally looking up from his project.

Merlin looked up from the paper and grinned. "Because I'm slowly turning you into my minion without you even realizing it. Aren't I evil?"

Arthur let out a dry laugh. "So evil, I can barely stand the urge to grab some chain mail and a sword and vanquish you from this land."

Both laughed and they continued on with their assigned tasks. Later, Merlin had a new rolling chair and Arthur had a new menu plan.

"How am I supposed to understand this chicken scrawl?" Arthur asked indignantly as he and Merlin walked out of the office. "It looks like it's been written by a two-year-old with a sugar rush."

Merlin's neck and ears flushed an embarrassed red color. "Prat! At least you got your menu revisions." As an afterthought, he added, "And thank you for fixing the chair, by the way. Now I have somewhere to sit in my office."

Arthur laughed and scratched an eyebrow. "Yes, well, I still need to check with Morgana to see if these menu revisions are actually what we're going to use. Maybe you can drive over to Morgana's flat and you can go through the revisions with her. You know, how you chefs do with your strange food talk."

For some reason, Merlin looked worried. "When?" he asked.

"Tomorrow, Merlin," Arthur said, as if Merlin were a simpleton.

"Um, I don't know if I can make it tomorrow," Merlin confessed scratching the back of his neck. "I don't think Will can drive me there that day. I think he has a date."

Arthur raised an eyebrow in a good impression of Gaius. "And so that impedes your ability to do anything that day _how?_"

Merlin smiled ruefully. "Will drives me everywhere," he clarified. "I don't have a license, you see."

"You don't have a license?"Arthur asked, baffled. "How do you survive in Paris without a license and only Will to drive you around?"

Merlin laughed."Trust me, it's very hard. I mostly go to Gaius's flat on Sundays, and I can walk to the library and the restaurant. The rest of the time, I just stay in my flat."

Arthur was nearly appalled at the idea. "But you _do _have your learner's permit?"

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Of course!" he defended hotly. "I've just been…putting off my driving lessons for a long time."

"How about I teach you?" Arthur asked before his mind could catch up with his mouth.

Merlin had a look of confused surprise on his face. "You?"

Arthur started to get annoyed. "Of course me. Unless you know another Arthur?" he said rhetorically.

Merlin flushed. "Oh no, that would be great, thank you. Will's always offering, but I don't really trust him with teaching me how to safely drive a car."

Arthur nodded and stepped out of the front door. "Alright. And I'll come pick you up tomorrow," he added, earning another surprised look from his companion. "We can meet Morgana together. Is nine all right with you?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Merlin nodded, and his grin was the last thing Arthur saw before he closed the front door.

Quickly walking back to his car, Arthur stuck his key into the ignition and drove off, Merlin's chicken-scratch notes tucked into his breast pocket.

:i:

YEAH! FINISHED _EARLY! _

Seriously this is the fastest I've ever finished a chapter. I think this is rubbing off on me.

It's going to be Spring Break next week, and I'm going to the beach and that equals maybe/no internet connection, so Magic in Our Stars Chapter seven might be late.

Good news though?

Seven hour car ride, and all I'll be able to do is write on my lap top.

_Consulter ce n'est pas ma faute qu'il a d'être un peu têtu— ce qui est de ce mot Merlin utilise? __Oh oui —prat_- See it's not my fault that he be a little stubborn-what is that word Merlin used? Oh yes- prat.


End file.
